Blank-feeding mechanism



A. N'OVICK.

BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION HLED lULY 3.1920.

Patented Oct. 17 1922.

A. NOVICK.

BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1920.

Patented Ot. 17, 1922.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

hisAitorm@n A. NOVICK.

BLANK FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1920.

Patented Oct. 17,1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Get. 117 1922.

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A. NOVICE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO F. L. SMITHE MACHINE MPAKTY, INCORPORATED, 015 NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0E NEW YORK.

BLANK-FEEDING .MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM NovIoK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings an State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blank-Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is a specificatmn.

This invention relates to blank feeding mechanisms, and its object is to provide means simple in construction and accurate in action for elevating a pile of blanks and for maintaining the level of the top of the pile within prescribed limits. With these and other ends in view, which Wlll appear later herein, my improvements comprise features illustrated in their preferred embodiment in the drawings accompanying this specification wherein Figure 1 'is a front elevation of a mechanism in which my improvements are shown applied to a portion of an envelope machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation corresponding wlth the showing of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in sectlon on line 33 of F g. 1, of what is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a plan View similar to that of F1g. 3 but showing some of the parts in dlfl'erent relative positions. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation, corresponding with the plan of Fig. 4 and with those parts in front of line 5-5 of Fig. 4 broken away.

Table 2 supports the several members of the mechanism and is provided with side extensions 4 and 6, between'which the blank carrier 7 elevates the pile of blanks 8. De-

pending from said table, bracket 9 is provided with. a vertical seat 10 in which slides elevator 11, and to the upper face of which is fixed carrier 7. The back of said elevator 11 is provided with rack teeth 12, projecting through opening 15 in bracket 9, for engagement with and upward propulsion by pinion 13 fixed to shaft 14 having bearings 1n bracket 9. Said shaft 14 also has fixed thereto worm gear 16 for engagement with worm 17 fixed to shaft 18 having a bearing in box 19 fixed tobracket 9. Said shaft" 18 has fixed to that end opposite worm 17, ratchet 20, and mounted for free rotation on said shaft between bearing 19 and ratchet 20 is pawl arm 21 carrying pawl 22 for engagement with said ratchet. Saidpawl 22 is urged to its work by spring 23. Arm 21 may be oscillated from time to time to cause pawl 22 to engage, when permitted, ratchet 20 by cam 24 fixed to shaft 25, through the f0 lowing means: Shaft 25 may be supported for rotation in some convenient part of the machine, not shown, and may be actuated from some source of power not shown. Shaft 26 adjacent bracket 9, supported for oscillation in bearings not shown, has fixed thereto arm 27, carrying at its outer end roll 28 for engagement with cam 24. Also fixed to said shaft 26 is arm 29 connected by link 30 with pawl arm 21. Roll 28 is urged toward cam 24 by pull spring 31, one end of which is fixed to arm 29 and the other to ear 32 outstanding from bracket 9. The diamond-shaped blanks 8, may be located on carrier 7 by being pushed back against posts 33, 34, Figs. 1 and 3, and WlllCll posts are supported and vertically adjustable in bracket 35 depending from extension 4and table 2. For lifting the envelope blanks 8, one at a time, from the top of the pile, the well-known vertically-mow mg picker frame 36 having opposite pickers 37, 38, .to the lower faces of which gum is supplied b some known means not shown, is provide These pickers descend through suitable openings 40, 41 in stripper plate 39,

and said plate is also provided with opening 42 therethrough for the passage of indicator arm 43. Str1pper plate 39 may be sup ported on bracket 44 upstanding from table 9. Between said stripper late 39 and the top of the pile of blanks is b 'ank transfer 45,

mounted for horizontal reciprocation as indicated by double ended arrow 46, Fig. 4. Said blank transfer is provided with gage pins 47, 47 for positioning the blank when that blank is deposited on said transfer.

Mounted in bearing 48 of bracket 44 is crank shaft 49 having an outreaching crank pin 50 eccentric thereto. On said crank pin is mounted oscillating arm 51. Said arm 51 is connected by link 52 with pawl arm 21 below. Said link 52 is adjustable for length 'by means of the well known device indicated in a general way at 53. Fixed to an upwardly projectin lug on arm 51 is said indicator-arm 43, aving its free end extending over the top of the pile of blanks 8 and adapted to contact with the topmost. blank of the pile each time arm 51 is oscillated upwardly, see Fig. 1. For relatively adjusting shaft 49,-to raise or lower crank-pin 50, which is the axial support of arm 51, and

. indicator arm 43, that end of shaft 49 opposite crank-pin 50 has fixed thereto arm 54. This arm carries at its free end spring mental extension 57 of bearing 48. Said setting pin 55 may be withdrawn from engagement with any particular hole 56 by means reaching from the hub of arm 51 contacts:

of button 58 fixed to the outer end of said pin. For preventing indicator arm 43 from dropping too far in the absence of blanks on blank carrier 7, stop arm 59 downwardly with the upstanding web of bracket 44.

The operation of my improved blank feeding mechanism is as follows: A pile of blanks 8 having been placed on blank carrier 7 and pushed back against posts 33, 34, elevator 11 is moved upwardly by turning ratchet 20 in anti-clockwise direction, Fig. 2, thereby communicating rotary movement in anti-clockwise direction to worm-gear 16 and pinion 13, Fig. 1. This movement is continued until the top ofthe pile of blanks encounters the free end of indicator arm 43 and-until it raises that free end to substantially horizontal position, see Fig. 1, previously, setting pin 55 has been caused to engage that hole 56 in-segmental extension 57 which will bring crank-pin 50 into approximately the horizontal plane passing through shaft 49.

Followin the positioning of said pin 55 as describe and the bringingof the pile of blanks upwardly into engagement with indicator arm 43 to bring that arm into approximately horizontal position, the length of link 52 is adjusted so that pawl 22 rests on top of one of the teeth of ratchet 20 and near to the abrupt end of that tooth, Fig. 2, so that, upon the removal of a few blanks from the pile 8, said indicator arm 43 will descend suliiciently to permit pawl 22 to engage behind that ratchet tooth on which it is illustrated as resting.

Cam shaft 25 is now started rotating in clockwise direction, Fig. 2, and pickers 37, 38, having been previously supplied with gum on their lower faces, respectively, descend and contact with the topmost blank of pile 8 and then start upwardly with that topmost blank, toward the position of Fig. 5. During this time the high part of cam 24 has engaged roll 28 and has caused arm 27 to swing to the right, Fig. 2, thereby causing arm 29 and, through link 30, arm 21 to swing downwardly whereby pawl 22 rides in anti-clockwise direction inefiectively along the face of that tooth of ratchet 20 on which it is resting. At the same time by means of link 52 arm 51 is pulled downwardly and indicator arm 43 is lifted from the pile of blanks to the position of Fig. 5. This lifting of indicator arm 43 permits the upward movement of the top olank without interference.

Pickers 37, 38 now continue their upward movement and pause, with the blank carried thereby, in a plane just below stripper plate 39. Blank transfer 45 then enters be-v tween stripper. plate 39 and those blanks remaining on the pile and passes to blank receiving position, Figs. 4 and 5. Pickers 37, 38 then continue their upward movement, the blank encounters stripper plate 39, is detached from said pickers thereby and falls upon blank transfer 45, being positioned thereon by pins 47, 47. In the meantime the pickers have risen to j their upper positions, all as shown in Fig. 5. The blank transfer then withdraws to deliver the blank to other mechanism not shown.

Cam 24 then rotates to present the low part of its periphery to roll 28, whereby indicator arm 43 again descends onto the pile of blanks and, if the upper face of that pile has been sufficiently lowered by the removal of blanks, said arm descends so far as to permit pawl 22 to engage behind that tooth of ratchet 20 on the top of which it is shown in Fig. 2 to be resting. Then upon the next engagement of roll 28 by the high part of cam 24, said pawl will rotate ratchet 20 in anti-clockwise direction one tooth, thereby raising the pile of blanks slightly.

If the height of the pile of blanks at which I it gives the indication for the effective engagement of the pawl with the ratchet is too high for the proper coaction of the pickers with the topmost blank, such discrepancy I intermittently oscillating said arm into contact with the top of the pile of blanks, said arm being operably connected with blank elevating means for governin the operation thereof, and means for adjusting the pivot of the ivotally mounted arm up and down relatively to the plane of the top of the pile of blanks.

2. In a blank feeding mechanism in which the height of the top of the pile of blanks governs the operation of said feeding mechanism through the instrumentality of a pivotally mounted arm oscillatin into contact with the top of the pile of lanks, the combination with said arm of means for adjusting its pivot up and down relatively to the top of the pile of blanks.

3. In a blank feeding mechanism the comlll bination of means for elevating a pile of blanks including a pivotally mounted indicator arm for engaging the top of the pile of blanks,the axis of said arm pivot being rotatable about a fixed axis.

4. In a blank feeding mechanism the combination of means for elevating a pile of blanks including a ivotally mounted indicator arm for engaging the top of the pile of blanks, the axis of said arm pivot being rotatable about a fixed axis, means for rotating said arm pivot about said fixed axis, and means' for locking said pivot rotating means.

5. In-a blank feeding mechanism the combination of means for elevating a pile of blanks including a pivotally mounted indicator arm for engaging the top of the pile of blanks, said arm pivot being eccentrically mounted on a rotatable shaft having a fixed bearing, a segment fixed to said bearing, an

arm fixed to the outer end of said shaft and extending over the face of said segment, and means for locking said shaft arm in any one of a plurality of positions relative to the face of said segment.

6. In a blank feeding mechanism the combination of means including a ratchet and an oscillating pawl for elevating a pile of blanks, acam for oscillating said pawl, a pivotally mounted indicator arm intermittently oscillatable into contact with the top of said pile of blanks, means connecting said indicator arm With said pawl for governing the amount of oscillation of said pawl, and means for adjusting the pivot of said indicator arm up and down relatively to the plane of the top of said pile.

In Witness whereof, I hereby affix my signature this 2nd day of July, 1920.

ABRAHAM NOVIC'K. 

